oo7bondgrrl

Long story short, my friend used a dirty cloth to help me wash my car Thursday. I was in a hurry, I wasn't paying attention, and I didn't notice that he'd picked up a cloth that I'd already used to brush off some loose dirt. So now I have thousand's of little scratches all over one side of my car. You can only see them at certain angles, but they are VERY visible from those angles. Should I take it to a professional detailer and see what they can do or try something myself? Would a good Zaino job help?

nyc1badmofo

If the scratches aren't deep at all the detailer can usually use wax and polisher to eliminate the scratches. If it's real bad wet sanding would be your best option. But overdoing might cause paint damage.

Ben
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-Future 04 Black TSX 6-speed Navi in 2 weeks
-Badges? I don't need no stinking badges!

ssm_tsx

Try some of the Zaino Z-5. My mazda tribute had TONS of those little scratches you're talking about, and it seemed to remove a great deal of them.

CDR

Visit Autopia -- www.autopia.org for tutorials on this, and more info than you probably care to know (click on "Learn" at the top). Scratches in the clear coat should be very fixable.

Unfortunately a Zaino job won't fix the problem. Z5 will not remove the scratches at all, but may mask the damage a bit by filling in the scratch. To actually fix it, you'll need to gently remove the scratches with a fine abrasive potion -- "swirl mark remover" or finer, followed by an even finer polish to remove the marks the swirl mark remover will make.

If you're new to this kind of damage control, it might still be worth getting a look and estimate from a good detail shop. I don't think it would be too expensive for just one side -- maybe $50-75 depending on where you're located.

Caution - product names are misleading in this category of "lotions and potions"! For example, 3M "Fine Cut" polish is regarded as a heavy abrasive! You want to use the least abrasive polish that will take off the scratches your car has.

I have a new CG TSX, and I'm still learning how to get the fine scratches the dealer prep put on it during the wash!

oo7bondgrrl

I think I will just try the detail shop. I never have much luck when I try to fix little problems like this myself.